Draft beer is sold by breweries and distributors in containers containing beer often referred to as kegs. These cylindrically shaped containers generally have two apertures at the superior end that allow for ease of dispensing.
Storage of beer kegs creates certain challenges because they are rather large, heavy and are not designed to be stackable. Establishments serving beer often do not have substantial storage space. As such, there is a need for a beer keg storage device that securely facilitates stacking of beer kegs to maximize available storage space.
One approach is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,599 issued to Brown et al. and consists of a keg saddle having a concave bottom surface for the storage of two beer kegs. This design was unsatisfactory because the beer dispensing mechanism was not readily accessible when beer kegs were stacked. Instability of the stackable beer keg using the keg saddle was also problematic when handling, transporting or storing beer kegs.
Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,033 issued to Baron wherein a guard for gas cylinder valves is shown and included a pair of flanges extending outwardly from the cylindrical portion of the guard. This design was not useful for stacking beer kegs for storage.
And still another approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5, 224,678 issued to McClellan where a cylindrical resilient sleeve element designed with a pair of saddles is adapted to receive a horizontally oriented beer keg. The cylindrical resilient sleeve member also incorporates a pair of apertures that allow for dispensing beer. This design is not useful as the beer kegs today have been redesigned with apertures built into the beer keg itself making the design redundant and additionally, the horizontally placed beer keg creates an unstable situation where both kegs can be accidently and easily tipped over.